Boomer OneHalf
by Cyclone
Summary: Ranma wakes up and finds himself in a place completely unfamiliar to him, yet somehow, he recognizes boomers for what they are. Effectively dead.
1. Prologue--Escape

***********************************************************************  
  
Based on stuff that's not mine...  
  
Written by Cyclone...  
  
Whirlwind Productions presents...  
  
BOOMER 1/2  
  
Prologue--Escape  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
Sensation filled his body, one at a time.  
  
Touch came first. He was lying on something cold and metallic with some kind of webbing strapping him down.  
  
Hearing was next. A faint humming, as of monitoring devices, filled the air.  
  
Smell and taste had nothing to report, except the scent of sterile disinfectant and a dry taste in his mouth.  
  
His eyes, blurry as they were, began to focus on a bright light suspended above him.  
  
He pulled himself up, easily ripping the restraints off. An alarm sounded, and two men in dark suits in mirrorshades entered the room from a door to the side. They drew guns; his eyes narrowed, just before he leaped toward them and crushed their guns.  
  
The two guards snarled and suddenly shed their skin, growing slightly as the flesh fell from their metallic blue shells. The two boomers, Bu-55-C models, charged at him. He ducked and sweeped one while elbowing the other. The first crashed through the opposite wall as the second was cut in half.  
  
He ran down the hallway, caving in the face of another Bu-55-C waiting outside. He suddenly dodged into a perpendicular hallway to the left as a quartet of guards, boomers probably, opened fire down the hallway with automatic weapons.  
  
He turned another corner and skidded to a halt. *Oh shit!* he thought, as a Bu-12-B stomped toward him. He grit his teeth and dove under the first volley from its machinegun. Focusing his energy, he jump to his feet and blasted it before charging in and landing over a hundred punches on its chest plating. The Bu-12-B stumbled and fell as he vaulted over it and continued his flight.  
  
He ran and dodged into a doorway. More boomers flooded the hallway with gunfire. He glanced around the tiny room he found himself in. He grinned as he spotted what appeared to be an air vent. As he climbed in, he thought, *Not that I'm complaining, but why the hell do they always make air vents large enough to crawl through?*  
  
The fugitive kept crawling and frowned as he heard a faint roaring sound. He looked up and swore. A whirling fan blade moved ponderously toward him. He backed away from it and thought furiously, trying to figure out how to get out of his current predicament. He focused his energy once more, blasting the fan blade and mangling it into an unrecognizable mass of molten, twisted metal.  
  
He sighed. The melted fan blade now blocked the entire air duct. He turned and blasted through the wall of the air duct and hopped out into another hallway. Booomers rounded the corner to the left and opened fire. Bullets flew over head and around him as he weaved down the right corridor. *Secret technique, my ass, pops. Still, I don't stand a chance in a head-to-head fight.*  
  
He kept running as the hall started to slant upwards. He dodged past a surprised office worker and caved in the door at the end of the hallway.  
  
Standing at the top of GENOM Tower, he gaped at the impressive vista before him. The glittering image of MegaTokyo at night was like nothing he had ever seen.  
  
"Where the hell am I...?" wondered Ranma Saotome, heir to the Saotome School of Anything-Goes Martial Arts.  
  
***********************************************************************  
Author's Postscript:  
  
There. I know I haven't really gotten anywhere, but I hope I have piqued your interest. Yes, the Knight Sabers will make an appearance in the next part, so don't worry.  
  
This is Cyclone, signing off. 


	2. Episode One--Battles

***********************************************************************  
  
Based on stuff that's not mine...  
  
Written by Cyclone...  
  
Whirlwind Productions presents...  
  
BOOMER 1/2  
  
Episode One--Battles  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
Priss was pissed.  
  
Not that this was anything new; nor was the target of her ire. As she raced down the freeway, she could still hear his words: "I'm sorry, but it was either break your contract or shut down. Seems our main sponsor, GENOM, doesn't appreciate your hard work for some reason."  
  
*GENOM...*  
  
As if on cue (which, BTW, it is ^_^), something exploded in front of her. She found herself flying through the air as her bike skidded into the flames. She picked herself up and shook her head clear.  
  
Two boomers, Bu-55-C models, were standing there. *Damn! What a f****** lousy way to die!* she snarled mentally as she fumbled for the components of her Member II pistol.  
  
They fired... but not at her. Rounds from their forearm machineguns stitched parallel paths along the edge of the road as they tracked a figure running a fraction of a second ahead of the hail of bullets.  
  
She shook her head in disbelief, "No way." Their target apparently heard her and swore as he changed trajectory and ran toward her.  
  
Priss suddenly found herself being carried in his arms. "Keep your head down!" he said as he carried her along the road.  
  
"Put me DOWN!" she snarled. *Who does this guy think he is? For that matter, how the hell did he DO all that?! _No_ one can be _that_ fast.* She heard the blare of a police siren as an ADP Tac Squad APC raced past.  
  
He set her down. "There. The ADP can handle it from here."  
  
She frowned. She didn't particularly care to be treated like some damsel in distress. Still... "Thanks for the save, but how'd you DO all that?"  
  
He shrugged and said, "I'm a martial artist," as if he expected that to explain everything.  
  
She was still a little unsure, but she shrugged and started to walk toward a phone booth, "Whatever. Thanks again."  
  
  
  
GENOM Tower...  
  
"The target has evaded the two Bu-55-Cs," reported one of the techs. "They have been terminated by the AD Police."  
  
Katherine Madigan acknowledged the tech's report with a nod and thought, *Hmm... you're more resourceful than I thought, Ranma.* "Send out Unit V-33-RH to retrieve the target."  
  
"Ma'am, is that wise?" asked the chief tech. "Unit V-33-RH's personality mnemonics are unstable. Given its high-level combat capacity, the results could be disastrous. It could-..."  
  
Madigan broke in, "I am fully aware of the situation regarding Unit V-33-RH. Do it."  
  
"Yes, ma'am," the chief technician turned to face the other techs. "Prepare to activate Unit V-33-RH."  
  
They chorused in response, "Yes, sir!"  
  
"Initializing objective data upload."  
  
"Power levels optimal."  
  
"Upload complete."  
  
"Initiating activation sequence."  
  
"Failsafes online."  
  
"Activation complete."  
  
Madigan nodded, "Deploy it."  
  
And with that, a powerful and barely controlled killer boomer was released on the unsuspecting city of MegaTokyo.  
  
  
  
Much later...  
  
//Chopper Two here. I've lost visual contact with the target. Repeat, I have lost visual cont-huh? AHH-!!!static//  
  
An explosion in the distance left no doubt as to where the boomer was. Since the Bu-47-D heavy weapons boomer was designed for artillery support, the AD Police was vastly outgunned, even moreso than usual.  
  
The Knight Sabers, of course, were on their way. The KnightWing streaked through the skies of MegaTokyo, cloaked by its enhanced jamming and stealth systems.  
  
"Knight Sabers, GO!"  
  
They heard sounds of battle as they approached at high speed... but when they got there, all that was left were the burning remains of Chopper Two and the boomer.  
  
"What the hell...?" That, of course, was Priss.  
  
The Knight Sabers approached the pile of wreckage that was once an automated heavy weapons/missile platform.  
  
Sylia knelt down to get a closer look and frowned, "Definite signs of an energy weapon... whoever did this had access to some fairly advanced firepower."  
  
"Could it be the ADP?" Linna asked.  
  
Nene shook her head, "No. They still don't have the authorization to use energy weapons. Chief Toodou's been trying to get it for months now."  
  
"Hmm..." Sylia looked thoughtful. "This bears some looking into."  
  
  
  
Meanwhile...  
  
Ranma wandered through the city. His mind revolved around his current situation, *I just don't get it. One minute, Akane's smashing me into orbit again; next thing I know, I'm here in this crazy future with robots trying to kill me! What the hell's goin' on?!*  
  
Then a thought struck him, *The nanban! All I hafta do is get that, and I can get myself home, no problem! Akane's right. I am _such_ an idiot.*  
  
He grinned as he finally settled on that course of action. *Let's see now. Nerima should be... that way.* He turned and headed in the general direction of the closest thing to home he remembered.  
  
  
  
The next morning...  
  
Sylia began scanning the files that had been attached to an e-mail Nene had sent during the night. One was marked urgent and had a message attached. She accessed it, only to discover that Nene had not finished decrypting it. With mild irritation, she opened the attached message.  
  
"Sylia,  
  
I haven't finished decoding this one, but what I've deciphered so far scares me. Check out what I've decoded. I have a bad feeling about this.  
  
Nene."  
  
Sylia's frowned. Nene usually didn't worry, leaving to her to decide what to do. If this was that serious...  
  
She opened the file again. *Project NERIMA...* As she read through what little was decoded, her faced paled. *No,* she thought, *they couldn't... they _wouldn't_.* But the proof was right in front of her.  
  
Though she could deny it all she wanted to, they had indeed gone through with it, and one had already escaped.  
  
*Fools. Don't they ever learn? As if the DD incident wasn't enough.*  
  
  
  
GENOM Tower...  
  
Madigan almost snarled. Since the night before, they hadn't been able to trace Ranma at all. Even Unit V-33-RH couldn't seem to track him.  
  
*Then again,* she thought as a faint, rueful smile quirked her lips and vanished in almost the same instant, *it's not like he was designed for tracking anything anyway.*  
  
She glanced irritatedly at the monitors displaying the camera images of the massive but empty testing complex hidden beneath GENOM Tower. The entire setup was useless now, with the primary test subjects no longer present.  
  
She sighed as she thought, *Ranma, Ranma, Ranma. Why did you have to run off like this? Don't you realize how important you are?*  
  
  
  
That night...  
  
Ranma silently cursed the weather. This was largely due to her currently female state, brought about by a sudden storm. She didn't bother looking for hot water. The clouds above promised more rain before the night was done. She sighed as she kept walking. She glared at her surroundings. She was in a wide but poorly-lit street that obviously did not see much use.  
  
That was when she caught a glimpse of a very familiar backpack topped by a head wrapped in a yellow and black bandanna.  
  
"Hey, Ryouga!"  
  
He turned. "Target located. Commencing acquisition."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
Ryouga drew his umbrella and swung. Ranma leaped out of the way and onto the open street. The umbrella smashed through a mailbox as she tried to calm her rival sometimes-friend, "Damnit, Ryouga! What the hell're you doin'?"  
  
Ryouga simply turned and walked toward her.  
  
Meanwhile, a pale and wide-eyed bystander ran off unnoticed by either combatant with the intention of finding a phone booth.  
  
Ranma cursed mentally and decided to elaborate, "Look around, lost boy! Does this look like Nerima to you? Even you hafta realize we ain't in our own _world_ anymore!"  
  
Ryouga raised his left hand and a blast of energy streaked out, which Ranma ducked. *Looks like I'm gonna hafta pound it into that pig head of his... as usual...*  
  
  
  
GENOM Tower...  
  
*Yes!* Madigan crowed mentally. Unit V-33-RH had found him. Now he was proceeding with the acquisition process. "Send ten 55-Cs to assist in the capture."  
  
"Yes, ma'am."  
  
  
  
ADP Headquarters...  
  
Inspector McNichol leaned back and stretched at his desk. *Time to relax...*  
  
"Leon!" He jerked up. It was Daley. "Someone called in about a couple of boomers fighting in District 12."  
  
"That's what I love about this town," Leon replied as he got up. "It's never dull."  
  
"Maybe," Daley said, "but one of our choppers have 'em IDed as some kind of superboomers."  
  
"Great," Leon rolled his eyes. "_Just_ what we need."  
  
  
  
District 12...  
  
"MOUKO TAKABISHA!"  
  
Ryouga opened his umbrella and blocked the yellow ball of energy before charging forward again, finger extended. Ranma ignored the thrusting digit. *He must've forgotten it doesn't work on-* "ARGH!"  
  
Ranma flew back, a circle about the size of of a 500-yen coin burned into her shirt. "What the hell?!"  
  
That's when Ranma heard the sirens approaching. "Hey, c'mon, Ryouga. We don't wanna get caught by the cops here."  
  
  
  
Meanwhile...  
  
Leon swerved his patrol car to a halt and stepped out, his STOMACH railgun drawn. Daley was on the other side of the car with an identical railgun.  
  
The two superboomers were unlike anything he had ever seen. For one thing, both appeared completely human. The only thing that identified them as boomers were the speed they moved at and the plasma blasts they were firing. At least, they looked like plasma blasts.  
  
For another, they both wore rather conspicuous clothing. The redhead wore a shredded silk outfit that nagged at his memory while the other, apparently called "Ryouga" by the redhaired superboomer, wore rough wool and a yellow and black bandanna. It also seemed to be using some kind of weapon disguised as a bamboo umbrella.  
  
"Ryouga" suddenly stretched a hand out toward the two ADP inspectors and launched a plasma blast at them. The other superboomer said something, Leon wasn't sure what, and dove toward him. He turned and raised his STOMACH, but the superboomer struck him before he could get a shot off.  
  
*Funny. It didn't hurt nearly as much I thought it would...*  
  
He sat up and shook his head clear. He gaped. The redhaired superboomer was now firmly embedded in his squad car a good four meters away with a large burn on its forearms. *It... saved me?*  
  
His eyes searched out for his STOMACH. He could try to figure out the superboomer's motives later. Right now, there was another superboomer to deal with.  
  
He spotted it... just as a foot stepped on it and crushed it. He looked up. "Shit!"  
  
It was the other superboomer, the one the redhaired superboomer had called "Ryouga."  
  
The superboomer raised its right hand, preparing to blast him into oblivion...  
  
  
  
Four meters away...  
  
Ranma groaned as she groggily pulled herself up. She saw Ryouga standing over a cop, the same cop she had just saved.  
  
"That's it, Ryouga! You've just gone TOO FAR this time!" she snarled. Attacking her was one thing, but attacking a bystander (a cop, no less!) was crossing the line.  
  
Suddenly, he heard a voice from above saying, "Knight Sabers, GO!"  
  
Four female armored figures leaped over her. Each was a different color white, blue, green, and red. The blue one extended her arm and a sliver of some ferrous metal shot out towards Ryouga, who shrugged it off.  
  
  
  
Back in the fray...  
  
Priss cursed as the superboomer seemed to ignore her railgun spike and returned fire with a plasma blast.  
  
"Sylia!" Nene's voice echoed over the comm. "I'm detecting ten incoming contacts! Tentative ID: 55-C combat boomers. ETA: thirty seconds."  
  
The leader of the Knight Sabers acknowledged Nene's report with a nod and spun to face the new threat. "Eliminate the 55-Cs first, then we'll deal with the superboomer."  
  
It was then that the other superboomer charged past them and tackled the first one, pummeling it with a furious barrage of punches and kicks.  
  
  
  
GENOM Tower...  
  
Madigan cursed. Of _course_ the Knight Sabers would choose now to interfere. Even ten 55-Cs weren't likely to be enough. She swiftly ran through her options:  
  
12-Bs could not be sent. After Mason had died, the highly illegal B-class boomers that were part of the primary defense grid at the time had almost destroyed GENOM's public credibility. If even one showed up, that would bring about unnecessary and undesired scrutiny.  
  
33-Cs would not do any good, not against the Knight Sabers. She had Mason to thank for that piece of information, as they had destroyed a fair number of them rather quickly when they attacked the 99-C-X1 facility. She paused to sneer at Mason's carelessness in that matter; _she_ would never have let such sensitive information leak out.  
  
Sending more 55-Cs would garner too much suspicion. Just the ten she had already sent would be difficult enough to explain away as a defective batch.  
  
Superboomers and prototypes were out of the question. Two superboomers were already enough to draw unwanted attention; three would have reporters sneaking in with the janitors.  
  
That left her with only one option that wouldn't take far too long to use. The testing had already been scheduled anyway, so altering the test site wouldn't be too difficult at all.  
  
  
  
On the battlefield...  
  
Ranma struck Ryouga with every bit of her Amaguriken speed, not even bothering with the usual battlecry. The two cops were alright, though the redhead would have a few broken bones. The sounds of more approaching sirens spurred her on, "MOUKO TAKABISHA!"  
  
The ki blast sent the Eternal Lost Boy flying back. The impact triggered something, _changed_ something deep within. Ryouga struggled to his feet and snarled.  
  
  
  
GENOM Tower...  
  
"Miss Madigan, Unit V-33-RH is beginning to act erraticly. We are attempting to reestablish communication."  
  
"Understood," Madigan nodded. "Keep trying." Despite her external cool, some part of her knew, deep down, that something had just gone horribly wrong...  
  
  
  
District 12...  
  
"Ranma Saotome! Prepare to DIE!"  
  
*Now that's more like it!* Ranma smirked. *I knew he wouldn't be able to keep the Soul of Ice up for long. This oughtta be quick.*  
  
"What's the matter, _P-chan_?! Get lost again?!"  
  
"Why you...!" Ryouga choked off in rage. "SHISHI HOUKOU DAN!"  
  
*Perfect!* Ranma thought as he finished the spiral. "HIRYUU SHOUTEN HA!"  
  
  
  
GENOM Tower...  
  
"Ma'am? The signal from Unit V-33-RH has terminated."  
  
Madigan sucked in a breath. With both of them gone, continuing Project NERIMA will be far riskier. The Chairman was not going to like this, and anything the Chairman did not like had a tendency to disappear, along with the person(s) responsible for it.  
  
  
  
District 12...  
  
Linna knuckle-bombed the last blue boomer, which collapsed in a smoking hulk of armor plating and fried electronic circuits. Nene had been monitoring the two superboomers while the four of them fought the 55-Cs. The superboomers did not seem hostile to anyone except each other.  
  
"Sylia, I'm detecting more incoming. Three boomers from the north. Airborne. Tentative ID: Bu-22-F Dogfights. ETA: ten seconds."  
  
Sylia frowned under her helmet. Dogfights usually operated in conjunction with AWACS jets, but a quick scan from the KnightWing's sensors indicated clear skies except for the Dogfights and several approaching ADP choppers.  
  
That was bad. If Firebees and Algonquins got mixed up in the battle, it was going to be bloody. Aerial combat was where the Dogfights shined brightest.  
  
Suddenly, all four of the Knight Sabers were thrown off their feet as a blast of concussive force slammed into them. "What the f*** was that?!" swore Priss as she pulled herself up, looking for an enemy.  
  
Nene swiftly checked her sensors, "I'm detecting a fading anomaly of some sort. I can't pin it down."  
  
Standing in front of them was the smaller superboomer. The other one was apparently inactive as it lay in the middle of a crater in the street. Before anyone could do anything, however, the Dogfights were upon them.  
  
Lightly armored and armed with only a single light particle beam cannon, the Bu-22-F Dogfight more than makes up for its lack of firepower with blinding speed provided by a large triple thruster pack and incredible maneuverability facilitated by a complex system of verniers, which had not changed much from the Dogfight's predecessor, the 2029 model Bu-19-F Skyhunter.  
  
The Knight Sabers knew all this (Sylia insisted that they be informed on the capabilities of all their potential opponents), but they had never fought any before.  
  
The superboomer leaped up to a rooftop and fired a plasma blast at the first 22-F, which dodged easily and returned fire. The battle was joined.  
  
  
  
On the ground below...  
  
Leon just shook his head as he stared. First the superboomer saved him and taken out the other superboomer, now it was fighting a trio of Dogfights alongside the Knight Sabers. He shuddered at that last bit.  
  
The last time a Dogfight had gotten loose, it had destroyed a full third of the choppers sent against it before a lucky shot from a Tac Squad trooper's rocket launcher took out one of the sensor booms. After that, its aerial mobility worked against it, and it ended up crashing into a construction site.  
  
He turned as he heard the distinctive rumble of high-powered diesel engines, out of place in MegaTokyo. A pair of APCs and an Armored Trooper carrier trundled toward him. Behind them was a medical transport.  
  
Leon waved to the medtrans and gestured toward Daley, who lay unconscious at his feet where he had applied first aid. Paramedics rushed to the redhaired inspector's aid. Wiping blood and sweat off his face, Leon walked over to the Tac Squad leader, Lt. Anderson.  
  
"What've we got?"  
  
"Two squads and four K-12s. Choppers on the way."  
  
"Choppers are coming _here_?!? Those're Dogfights up there. Even Hornets won't stand a chance. Remember what happened last time?"  
  
"You try tellin' _them_ that. Damn rotor-jocks think they're invincible."  
  
Leon nodded absently as he strode over to the AT carrier. "Hey, got a spare?"  
  
"'Fraid not, Leon."  
  
Leon caught something moving out of the corner of his eye and spun, his Earthshaker already out and raised before he even realized it.  
  
"What is it, Inspector?"  
  
"Not sure. I'm gonna check it out."  
  
"Mind if I tag along?" asked Anderson.  
  
"Not a bit. I could use the back up."  
  
Leon stepped cautiously into the warehouse. The place had the distinct feel of abandonment, even considering the civilian evacuation order. Even the sounds of battle were muffled to a distant thunder.  
  
  
  
Up above...  
  
Nene shrieked and fired her light laser cannon as one of the Dogfights barreled towards her, particle beam cannon raised. Somehow, the three boomers had some AWACS support, and Nene had been busy trying to jam and pinpoint it. Every time she paused to do so much as dodge a stray shot, the boomers moved with greater coordination. She was still no closer to finding the source of the sensor support than she was at the beginning of the battle.  
  
Now, one had targeted her after knocking Linna flat on her face and through a rooftop. Sweat rolled down Nene's face as she tried to simultaneously stay alive and keep up with the AWACS's frequency-hopping and ECCMs.  
  
Suddenly, the superboomer tackled the Dogfight, knocking it off course, and hit it point-blank with a plasma blast. "MOUKO TAKABISHA!"  
  
The Dogfight collapsed in a heap of slagged metal. Bullets began spraying from the street below at one of the Dogfights. The few rounds that hit merely dented the armor as that particular 22-F flew down and blasted the K-12s and the APCs.  
  
The now-headless Armored Troopers stood motionless, guns pointed upward, like statues memorializing some great war even as blood spilled down them from the headless necks of the unfortunate pilots.  
  
  
  
Inside the warehouse...  
  
The Bu-41-R reconnaissance boomer prototype assessed its situation.  
  
*Advanced Police ground troops? Effectively neutralized.  
  
*Advanced Police aerial units? Incoming.  
  
*Estimated Time of Arrival? Two minutes.  
  
*Estimated threat level? Low.  
  
*Alert!  
  
*Details? Incoming humans on foot.  
  
*Armaments? High-caliber revolver and submachine gun.  
  
*Estimated threat level? Inconsequential.  
  
*Dismiss.  
  
*Primary targets? Airborne.  
  
*Estimated threat level? Very high.  
  
*Remaining forces? Two Bu-22-F Dogfight aerial interceptor boomers.  
  
*Primary objective status? Successful.  
  
*Secondary objective status? Incomplete.  
  
*Tertiary objective status? Incomplete.  
  
*Probability of secondary objective success? 0.59%  
  
*Probability of tertiary objective success? 0.59%  
  
*Recommended course of action? Sacrifice Bu-22-F Dogfight units and withdraw to make full report.  
  
*Engage.*  
  
Decision made, the boomer turned and strode off, casually dealing with the two human interlopers.  
  
(Author's note: For those wondering, the primary objective was the field-testing of its capabilities, the secondary objective was Ranma's capture, and the tertiary objective was, as always, the elimination of the Knight Sabers.)  
  
  
  
Two days later...  
  
Ranma, having returned to his original male state, poured the remaining hot water on the unconscious piglet. "Yo, Ryouga."  
  
The boy-turned-pig-turned-back-to-boy groaned, sat up, and glared as his eyes focused on the martial artist in front of him. "Ranma!"  
  
The pigtailed boy held his hand up in Ryouga's face. "Hold it, Ryouga. We need to work together."  
  
"And why should I work with _you_?"  
  
Ranma rolled his eyes. "'Cause we're not on our world, anymore, pig-boy."  
  
Ryouga decided to ignore the porcine remark for now, "Oh, come on, Ranma. Do you expect me to believe a story like _that_? It's impossible!"  
  
"Like a boy turning into a pig is impossible?" Ranma raised an eyebrow. "I'd've thunk you'd realize what happened."  
  
Ryouga's eyes narrowed. He knew he should pound Ranma for that jab at his curse. After all, he could never trust _Ranma_ of all people. Then again, Ranma had never lied before, and Ryouga doubted he'd start now.  
  
"All right, Ranma. A truce until we get home."  
  
  
  
GENOM Tower...  
  
"Your mishandling of the situation has been most... disappointing, Miss Madigan."  
  
Externally, the violet-haired Special Assistant bowed her head, but internally, she winced. Failure had no place in the corporate superstructure that made up GENOM, and Quincy rarely attached the honorary appellation unless he was truly upset.  
  
The fact that Smith was in the room as well merely made it worse.  
  
"I am... quite aware that I may have been hasty in my attempt to recover the subject, Mr. Chairman."  
  
Quincy nodded. "I see. However, I have come to the conclusion that your personal involvement with Project NERIMA may prevent you from handling the situation with the proper objectiveness."  
  
Madigan sucked in a breath and shot a glare at Smith. *So _that's_ why he's here!*  
  
"Therefore, I am relieving you of the responsibility for this situation. Smith will take over from here."  
  
The pale, skinny, clammy-skinned man bowed to Quincy, though it was clear from the smug grin he shot her way that he knew well beforehand that this had been the Chairman's intent for this meeting.  
  
"Thank you, Mr. Chairman," Smith gave an oily smile. He had never had any other kind of smile as far as anyone knew. "I shall deal with the aftermath of Madigan's... mishap... in District 12 at the press conference tomorrow."  
  
Madigan's eyes narrowed, "And what do you intend to tell them, eh?"  
  
Victor Smith just smiled again, "Why, the truth, of course."  
  
  
  
The next day...  
  
Leon stretched as he leaned back. His left arm was in a sling thanks to that lightning-fast black boomer that had been in the warehouse. Lt. Anderson wasn't quite so lucky.  
  
One of Quincy's flunkies was on the TV, blathering on about the incident three days ago.  
  
//As the escaped anti-boomer superboomer is hard-wired to defend humans at all costs, I can assure you that it is harmless. It will only direct hostility toward those it perceives as a threat, either to itself or to bystanders. Even so, it will not kill a human under any circumstance. For that matter, it will not even allow a human to die or come to any harm if it can be prevented, even at risk of its own elimination.//  
  
//What about the other boomers that were there?//  
  
//The other superboomer was programmed to capture or destroy the first. The 22-Fs were there to assist in this endeavor.//  
  
//And the combat boomers?//  
  
//The 55-Cs were sent to evacuate the area of both civilians and AD Police, as the 22-Fs are somewhat... unpredictable. However, they were unable to accomplish this as the misguided--but well-intentioned, I'm sure--Knight Sabers destroyed them within minutes of their arrival.//  
  
//So... you're saying the Knight Sabers are responsible for the deaths of twenty-two AD Police officers?//  
  
//No, not at all. Considering the track record for our initial releases of this particular model, their reaction was quite understandable, and I am in fact grateful for their attempt to help secure or eliminate the rogue boomer.//  
  
//Thank you, Mr. Smith. Back to you, Hitomi.//  
  
//Well, that seems pretty wrapped up. Still, I won't be sleeping too well tonight knowing there's a superboomer on the loose. In other news-...//  
  
Leon shut off the television and shook his head. That actually sounded believable for once, since that boomer actually _did_ save his life.  
  
Well, mostly believable. There was no way that second superboomer was as under control as that suit made it sound, and there wasn't any mention of that black boomer, either. Leon had never seen anything like it before. It was obviously a prototype.  
  
He forced himself to his feet and dressed. Time to visit his partner in the hospital.  
  
  
  
A few minutes later...  
  
Leon grunted as adjusted his sling for the tenth time. He walked into Daley's room and waved. "Good morning."  
  
"Hey!" Daley grinned. He gestured to the nightstand, "You really shouldn't have."  
  
Leon blinked at the vase of white carnations and shook his head. "Wasn't me."  
  
"If it wasn't you, then who was it?"  
  
"Wellll... I think I heard one of the nurses down the hall talkin' about 'the cute cop in room twelve.'" He grinned. "Another heart broken by your boyish good looks."  
  
The redhead scowled, then grinned again. "You know you're the only one for me, Leon-chan."  
  
Leon rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I just thought I'd come by and see if you heard GENOM's official position on the superboomer incident."  
  
Daley snorted, incongruous as it seemed. "An escaped anti-boomer boomer? Don't tell me you actually _bought_ that."  
  
Leon shrugged and walked over to look out the window, "I dunno what to believe. That short superboomer did save my life, after all. Knocked me outta the way of a plasma blast."  
  
Daley grimaced. "I know, I was there. I'd probably be dead too if it hadn't stayed there and blocked the blast. But GENOM's never done anything to stop rogue boomers before. Why would they start now?"  
  
Leon turned away from the window and faced Daley with a look of determination. "I don't know, but I intend to find out."  
  
  
  
Four days later...  
  
"Sorry again about the accomodations, Sylia."  
  
"You haven't changed a bit, Fargo. At least you're wearing a new suit this time."  
  
"You noticed."  
  
Sylia sighed. "Fargo, what do have for me on that... incident... a week ago?"  
  
The fixer swirled his drink with his finger, "Not much. GENOM's story checks out so well, I'm beginning to believe it."  
  
Sylia frowned and shook her head, "Maybe, but it doesn't fit. GENOM has nothing to gain by designing something to _stop_ boomers. Keep digging."  
  
"Don't expect much. I'm going to lay low for a few months, at least. There're a few other people who're also trying to get some info on that incident."  
  
She raised an eyebrow, "Oh? Who?"  
  
"One's AD Police, that much I know. I'm pretty sure it's Inspector McNichol. The other two trails both led back to GENOM." He grimaced slightly. "I couldn't get any more specific than that. Two of my contacts bought it trying to find out."  
  
Sylia frowned thoughtfully. Fargo and his contacts numbered among the best. That two had died trying to find out who else wanted to know about the superboomers spoke volumes. It also explained why Fargo had decided to go underground for a while. *There must be more to Project NERIMA than I thought...* she mused.  
  
***********************************************************************  
Author's Postscript:  
  
I have my prereader, Bran-chan, to thank for his very helpful input into this... unusual... BGC/Ranma crossover.  
  
This is Cyclone, signing off. 


	3. Episode Two--Terrorists (1/2)

***********************************************************************  
  
Based on stuff that's not mine...  
  
Written by Cyclone...  
  
Whirlwind Productions presents...  
  
BOOMER 1/2  
  
Episode Two--Terrorists, part one  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
Leon stretched his arms as he strolled through the streets of MegaTokyo. It had been a week and a half since his arm had been broken by an experimental (and publicly nonexistent) boomer. It was amazing what modern medicine could do.  
  
He had dug around a bit, looking for more clues about the two superboomers that had been at the center of it all, but nothing turned up. In fact, three of his informants had just vanished.  
  
Currently, he was assigned to light duty because of his still-healing arm, much to his irritation. Now, however, was his off-hours, which he had taken to spending strolling through MegaTokyo, as though he somehow thought he'd stumble right on top of a clue.  
  
As his mind wandered, he rounded a corner and nearly ran over a young man with black hair done up in a pigtail. The young man, a teenager, was carrying a rucksack on his back and a little black piglet under his arm.  
  
"Whoa, sorry 'bout that."  
  
The young man turned, "Inspector McNichol?"  
  
Leon blinked and took a closer look. "Hey, you're that Saotome kid, right?" The young man nodded warily. "Didja ever find your folks?"  
  
Ranma shook his head and sighed. "I'm afraid not."  
  
"You really oughtta come down to the station. N-Police could help you find them."  
  
"No, thanks. I don't like relying on someone else's help. Neither does Pops. He don't like workin' with cops. No 'fense."  
  
"Your call, kid." The ADP inspector shrugged and walked past him.  
  
*Now,* he thought, *if I could only figure out how to track down those two superboomers, I'd have some answers. Hell, we might even be able to finally pin something on GENOM.*  
  
(Author's note: Yes, dear readers, this is your cue to laugh at the silly inspector. ^_^)  
  
  
  
Behind him...  
  
Ranma breathed a sigh of relief. He had been really worried that the inspector might recognize him. *Don't be stupid,* he snarled mentally at himself. *You've only been tossin' ki blasts in girl-form. There's no _way_ he'll link that to your guy-form.*  
  
Still... "That was close, eh, Ryouga?"  
  
The piglet squealed in agreement.  
  
"C'mon. Let's get you some hot water."  
  
"Bwee."  
  
  
  
That night...  
  
Phil was a security guard.  
  
In a day and age where combat boomers were used by almost everyone who could afford them, guards like Phil were in _very_ short demand. Still, he liked his job. It allowed him to legally carry a gun without risking his life daily like it would've been had he joined the ADP or even the N-Police.  
  
He also had the distinction of being one of the few security guards under GENOM's employ. The technological megacorp tended to rely almost solely on their boomers.  
  
The GENOM facility he guarded was a tiny R&D facility. Nothing ever happened there, but he wasn't about to complain. He stifled a yawn as he visually scanned the parking lot in a vain attempt to spot any intruders. He saw nothing.  
  
He didn't even see the person who killed him.  
  
  
  
A few minutes later...  
  
GENOM Research Facility 271 was defended by a security force of twenty humans and a 55-C combat boomer for emergencies. The light security partially explained why the intruder was now calmly cleaning the blood of the last security guard off the twin serrated blades emerging from his right forearm even as he stepped over the body.  
  
The boomer, already having shed its artificial skin, rounded the corner. Locating the intruder's heat signature, it raised its right arm and prepared to cut down the intruder where he stood.  
  
The intruder was faster. He dashed forward with blinding speed and slammed the wristblades deep into the boomer's midsection.  
  
A quick twist of the wrist and the boomer collapsed, leaking lubricant out from a hole in the midsection.  
  
The intruder glanced at the blue cyberdroid with a faint sense of regret before he strode onward. Soon, he found what he was looking for and called in his comrades.  
  
Yes. Quiet as it was, this was a great victory for them and the first step to their ultimate goal.  
  
  
  
The next morning...  
  
"So, is there anything missing?" Leon asked.  
  
The Special Assistant shook his head, "I'm afraid I am not at liberty to say."  
  
Leon frowned but nodded. Someone had broken into GENOM Research Facility 271 last night and made a real mess. Blood was splattered everywhere, and only a few of the bodies were in one piece. Until the security footage could be retrieved and uploaded properly, their only clue was a white card found in a room that was suspiciously empty. The card had three letters printed on it: C.L.A.  
  
"Leon! We've got the security footage running!"  
  
"Sorry. Gotta run," Leon said, then hurried over to the command post. As he entered, his temp partner, Rick Deckard, turned to face him.  
  
"I don't know what to make of it. By what the cams say, the fellow who made that mess last night is invisible."  
  
"Invisible?" Leon cocked an eyebrow skeptically.  
  
Rick nodded as he began the tape.  
  
On screen was a well-lit hallway intersection. Leon frowned as he caught a figure, almost invisible except for the faint shimmer. It was humanoid and walking up one hallway.  
  
One of the guards ran up another hallway and right past the shimmering figure before he stopped and scanned the hallways. The invisible man stalked up behind the unsuspecting guard, and a pair of serrated blades slid out from what seemed to be the intruder's right forearm.  
  
The guard spun. His eyes widened as he scrabbled for his gun. One quick slash, and his throat was gone. Another, and the guard slumped to the ground, eviscerated. The invisible intruder turned and walked down the hall the guard had just come from.  
  
Leon's lips were dry. An invisible assassin. The thought was... disconcerting, to say the least. He rubbed his temples. Just trying to look at the shimmering figure gave him a headache.  
  
The fact that the killer apparently had a sadistic streak, as evidenced by the gutting of the already-dead guard, didn't make him feel any better at all.  
  
  
  
Two days later...  
  
Smith was reviewing his plans. So far, everything was falling into place. The plan really was quite remarkable. Executed correctly, it would accomplish several goals at once. Even if it failed, GENOM would still come out on top.  
  
His oily grin returned. He did so love it when things went according to plan.  
  
  
  
That night...  
  
The driver of MegaTokyo Bus 16 was in a serious predicament. THP pursuit cars matching its speed had been pacing it in front, behind, and to each side. He was now circling the bus on a circle junction on the freeway.  
  
He eyed the speedometer as he careened the bus around the circle again: 76kph.  
  
Someone had triggered a small explosion on the underside of the bus once it had reached the freeway. The explosion was precise and only took out one thing: the brake fluid line.  
  
Without brakes, he was attempting to slowly coast to a stop as the bus' momentum dropped. Thankfully, the THP had managed to clear this area of the freeway before there had been any accidents.  
  
The speed began to plummet. With one eye on the speedometer and the other on the road, he dared not pause to wipe sweat off his forehead.  
  
71kph, 69, 67, 65kph...  
  
  
  
At the THP road block...  
  
Clemens watched the bus round the junction again with a somewhat frightening intensity. There wasn't anything he could do, which aggravated him more than anything else. The bus' speed was dropping, but at a maddeningly slow rate.  
  
Initially, he had wanted to unload the passengers and driver onto another bus matching its speed, but when it was evident that the only real danger was the bus' speed, it became pointless to try such a high-risk maneuver.  
  
The bomb that had been planted was a sure sign of terrorist activity, which was why two ADP patrol cars and a Road Chaser were part of the road block.  
  
Suddenly, as the bus round the circle again, it exploded.  
  
  
  
Elsewhere...  
  
The eyes of two martial artists burned into the television screen. They had set up camp like just another pair of vagrants in an isolated area of the Canyons. Ryouga's camping gear proved to be of immense use, though Ranma wasn't about to ask just _why_ the Lost Boy carried a miniature TV with him.  
  
On the screen in front of them, a reporter was now attributing the recent bus bomb, the fires of which firefighters were attempting to put out behind the reporter even as he spoke, to an as-yet unidentified terrorist group.  
  
Ryouga snarled, "Terrorists. Have they no honor?"  
  
Ranma made no reply and maintained a stony silence as he too glared at the screen.  
  
  
  
Three hours later...  
  
Leon frowned as he held up a white card. Printed on it were three letters: C.L.A.  
  
How it survived the explosion and the subsequent fires was beyond him, but it was a clue and a good one at that. *So, this CLA is a terrorist group, eh?* he grimaced. The invisible assassin had been bad enough when it was assumed to be working alone. With the backing of a new terrorist group that didn't appear to have any patterns or even demands, it could get very bloody.  
  
  
  
The morning after next...  
  
"Argh!" Leon cried out as the fresh coffee proceeded to scald his tongue. He spent about a minute panting through the boiling hot coffee already in his mouth in an effort to cool it down before he swallowed, so as not to strip his throat of important tissues.  
  
"Blech! Next time, warn me, okay?" he said, glaring at Rick, who was grinning at him with open mirth.  
  
"Good morning!"  
  
"Huh?" Leon queried as he blearily tried to focus on Rick's face. "Whuzzat s'posed to mean?"  
  
"Leon... take a break."  
  
"An' why should I?"  
  
"'Cause you need it. This case has been driving you up the wall ever since that bus blew up two nights ago."  
  
Leon bristled, but Deckard was right. He _had_ been getting more irritable since then. In fact, now that he thought about it, he doubted he had even slept or changed his now-rumpled clothes since then.  
  
Reluctantly, the sleep-deprived ADP inspector levered himself out of his chair and suppressed a yawn. "Yeah, I guess you're right."  
  
  
  
GENOM Tower...  
  
"So, in summary," Smith said, "everything is going as expected, Mr. Chairman." He bowed respectfully to the craggy-faced man sitting with his back to the vast window.  
  
Quincy rumbled in reply, "Excellent. How long before this plan of yours is complete?"  
  
"A matter of days or weeks yet, sir."  
  
"I see. Proceed. Send in Madigan on your way out."  
  
Smith bowed again and replied, "Yes, Mr. Chairman."  
  
A few moments after Smith strode out the door to Quincy's office, the violet-haired Special Assistant entered with an enviable calm for someone in her position.  
  
"You wished to see me, Mr. Chairman?"  
  
Quincy nodded and began without preamble, "Madigan, it has come to my attention that you have been using your own considerable resources in an attempt to track down our misplaced assets."  
  
Madigan's face went pale, "Mr. Chairman, I am only-..."  
  
Quincy's low voice cut into whatever excuse she had been making, "Say nothing."  
  
Madigan's teeth practically clacked as she closed her mouth.  
  
"Madigan, I approve of your initiative." A puzzled look crossed her face. Quincy turned his chair to face the window and leaned back before he continued, "Without initiative, one might as well be a boomer. Remember that, Madigan."  
  
Madigan nodded and replied, "Yes, Mr. Chairman."  
  
"Excellent. Before you leave, there are a few other projects I want you to see to while every eye is directed toward Smith."  
  
She bowed, "Yes, Mr. Chairman." A fleeting smile of victory crossed her lips. Smith was nothing but a decoy for the Chairman's true plans.  
  
Facing away from her, Quincy saw her smile nonetheless and matched it with one of his own. After all, if even his most trusted advisors did not know the truth, how would his enemies learn it?  
  
  
  
In the Ladys 633 building...  
  
"Why aren't we _doing_ anything about this, guys?"  
  
"Quit whining, Nene. What CAN we do, huh?" Priss shot back.  
  
Mackie nodded, "Priss has a point, Nene. We don't even hear about it until long after the fact."  
  
The door opened, and the room quieted. Sylia walked in and sat down. She looked at each of them in turn and said, quite calmly, "Largo is back."  
  
Linna choked on her soda and coughed violently for a moment. Nene yelped. Mackie's jaw dropped. Priss shook her head and snarled, "No way! No f***ing way! We killed that bastard!"  
  
Sylia nodded. "Perhaps, but there is little doubt that the organization responsible for the recent terrorist actions is influenced by him somehow."  
  
"What makes you say that, sis?"  
  
She cleared her throat, "I've learned that CLA stands for the Cyberdroid Liberation Army." She paused for a moment to let that sink in, then continued, "Other than a boomer designated Bu-R-31-V728 in an isolated incident several years ago, Largo was the only one who had such radical goals in mind."  
  
The others nodded. Nene made a mental note to check up on this "V728" incident in the ADP archives.  
  
(Author's Note: No doubt some of you readers will be going "Huh?" For those of you who are confused, I must direct you to http://www.ravensgarage.com, which is my major source of information regarding V728.)  
  
Sylia continued, "It is unknown whether their leader is a boomer or a boomeroid, but all my sources agree that he is not a normal human."  
  
"Why do they say that?" Linna asked.  
  
The leader and founder of the Knight Sabers shook her head, "I don't know. All they told me was that their connections have enough conviction on this subject to convince them."  
  
In truth, she felt she would likely have more to tell them if Fargo hadn't gone underground after the superboomer incident some weeks back. There was one other factor that had convinced her that Largo was involved: so far, the CLA had made no demands.  
  
That meant either they were waiting for a suitably grand, and likely tragic, part of their plan before making their demands known, or they had no demands and meant to accomplish their goals on their own, which meant a full-scale boomer revolution like what Largo had tried to begin. The thought was quite unsettling, but she did not want to worry the others.  
  
"In any case, my contacts are convinced that they're going to hit the Tinsel City Bank sometime in the next week."  
  
  
  
Friday night...  
  
An armored truck trundled toward the building. The driver, wearing the usual blue-grey security uniform, grinned jauntily and gave the police ringing the building a casual salute. "Heyyy, pretty tight security tonight. What's up?"  
  
His partner elbowed him, whispering, "You mean you hadn't heard? Some terrorist group's s'posed to be hittin' the bank this week."  
  
The driver blanched, "Oh. Um, well, we're here to transfer the cash?" He handed Tanaka some papers.  
  
Tanaka scanned the papers and waved them through, "Go right ahead. We've been expecting you."  
  
The driver nodded, "Thanks, buddy!" The armored truck's diesel engine roared as he drove on in.  
  
Leon yawned. Tanaka glared at him disapprovingly. "You should leave this to the N-Police and get some sleep. If anyone's going to try robbing the bank, it'll be some unfortunates who've seen 'Bonnie and Clyde' one too many times. We can handle this."  
  
Rick answered him before Leon could speak, "Maybe, but word on the street says it'll be the CLA that hits, and terrorists fall under the ADP's jurisdiction."  
  
Several minutes later, a black van screeched to a halt in front of the building. An elegantly-dressed woman stepped out of the passenger seat. Leon briefly saw a large and burly man sitting impatiently in the driver's seat. She power walked up to the police line with a decidedly irritated look on her face.  
  
She frowned as Tanaka moved to stop her. "What do _you_ want?" Her voice was sharp and clipped.  
  
"Ma'am, I'm afraid this area's under police lockdown. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask for some ID."  
  
She glared at him harshly. "Listen, _officer_, I have some very important business to do right now before the bank closes. I would _appreciate_ not being held up anymore than _absolutely_ necessary."  
  
"I understand, ma'am, but I'm afraid this _is_ necessary."  
  
While this unusual interplay was going on, Leon was pondering something. He wasn't sure why, but for some reason, the armored truck that had come by earlier was nagging at him. It had felt... _wrong_ to him somehow.  
  
Then it hit him. The truck had a diesel engine. By law, all internal-combustion engines ran on ethanol unless they were issued a special license, and, so far, only the ADP was licensed to use non-ethanol internal combustion engines.  
  
"Shit!" He spun to the N-Police officer and yelled, "Tanaka! That armored truck was a-..." He was cut off as the front of the building exploded violently. A massive red... Leon couldn't tell if it was a boomer or a battlemover, but whatever it was, it stomped out of the bank. It had a blocky build that spoke of power and armor at the price of manueverability and speed.  
  
The domed head or helmet turned to face a pair of K-12s that had emerged from the ADP detail. It raised one massive arm and a storm of bullets that spouted from the forearm riddled the two Armored Troopers with new ventilation holes.  
  
Several men on foot, wearing body armor and carrying assault rifles and bags of money, ran out of the bank, laying down suppressive fire.  
  
The battlemover (it lacked the biomechanical components that would make it a boomer) fired a set of thrusters on its back and took off into the night. The other robbers, terrorists, whatever, piled into the black van as the woman climbed into the passenger seat again. The van jounced around a bit as it careened down the road.  
  
Suddenly, the entire bank exploded into a massive fireball, throwing burning concrete and shards of molten metal everywhere and causing everyone to take cover. For a moment, there was silence except for the crackle of the fire and the cries of the dying.  
  
Leon broke that silence and roared, "What's everyone waiting for?! Let's go get 'em!" With that, he ran to his mostly intact Road Chaser. Rick was one step behind him. Moments later, sirens wailed as police cars, both ADP and N-Police, pursued the fleeing criminals.  
  
  
  
Meanwhile...  
  
The red battlemover landed heavily in the front compound of ADP Headquarters. It approached the monolithic structure and opened fire.  
  
Gunfire and death cries filled the night as the ADP fought the lone war machine.  
  
  
  
Freeway 7...  
  
The back door of the van swung open. Leon and Rick's Road Chaser was the lead car, and they opened fire at the opening. Earlier, they had discovered that the van was armored enough to stop rifle rounds.  
  
A large metal tube, roughly 5cm in diameter, poked out the back of the van.  
  
FWOOSH!  
  
Leon swerved out of the way, but the two N-Police squad cars behind them were not so lucky. The rocket landed between them, and the unusually large blast threw both cars into the air, flipping them.  
  
Police officers behind them slammed on their brakes and swerved their cars to either side in futile attempts to avoid colliding. With that one shot, the massive coterie of pursuing vehicles was reduced to the single Road Chaser and, unbeknownst to anyone else, the KnightWing.  
  
  
  
Elsewhere...  
  
*Excellent. All my plans are coalescing together perfectly.*  
  
  
  
Later...  
  
Tanaka stood cursing under his breath. After having extricated himself from the massive near-pile-up, he had exercised his officer's rights and appropriated some fast transportation.  
  
It didn't make much difference. The terrorists/bank robbers had driven right past the N-Police main headquarters, where practically every active-duty officer had been mobilizing.  
  
This, of course, led to quite a large number of N-Police squad cars after them. Somehow or other, they had doubled back and led the pursuing police back to a heavily-fortified N-Police headquarters with a small army defending it.  
  
Leon wasn't any happier than Tanaka was. The fact that they'd managed to dupe not only the N-Police but himself and his partner tugged at his ego.  
  
"Leon!" Rick called. "Chief's on the line!"  
  
He turned, "Gotcha." He headed over to his Road Chaser and took the handset Rick handed him. "Chief, we need AT backup. The terrorists have taken over N-Police headquarters."  
  
//I'm afraid that won't be possible, McNichol.//  
  
"What?! Chief, they've got..."  
  
//McNichol,// Toodou interrupted, but Leon didn't even slow down.  
  
"...a small army and a handful of Armored..."  
  
//McNichol!// Again, the Chief was ignored.  
  
"...Troopers and battlemovers in there!"  
  
//MCNICHOL! Shut up and listen! A red battlemover showed up here and attacked the ADP tower. We've disabled it, but it crippled most of our forces. Best we can manage right now is a few APCs.//  
  
Leon's grip on the handset went slack. *They _planned_ this. They planned every bit of this!* In one move, they had crippled the ADP, taken over N-Police headquarters, and gotten away from it all several million richer.  
  
As his thoughts continued, his grip tightened on the handset until the plastic almost cracked. He held up the handset, "Wait. Did you say this battlemover was red? Did it have a domed sensor head?"  
  
//Yeah, it did. How did you know?//  
  
"I think that's the same battlemover that hit the bank. Did you catch the pilot? Maybe we can pump him for info."  
  
//There _was_ no pilot. It was hooked up directly to a boomer brain.//  
  
Leon's blood ran cold. Boomers and battlemovers he could deal with, but the last (and thankfully so far only) time he had taken on a boomer piloting a battlemover, it had almost killed him. It would've too, had the Knight Sabers arrived even a second later.  
  
  
  
On a nearby rooftop...  
  
Ryouga snarled ferally. These terrorists were nothing but honorless cowards. Ranma stood next to him in girl-form. As Ryouga had pointed out, it would be easier for Ranma to stay anonymous if people didn't make any connection between his two forms.  
  
"C'mon," said Ranma. "Let's go. We'll get in through... there." She pointed at a window on the right side of the building about a third of the way up.  
  
Ryouga nodded, and they both leaped down to the street.  
  
  
  
A few blocks down...  
  
The KnightWing landed gently on the roof of a large building, and four hardsuited figures exited the aircraft. Sylia frowned as she surveyed the N-Police building. It didn't look very promising. "Nene, scan the building."  
  
"Already on it," replied the redhead. After a while, she began listing the terrorists' defenses, "They've got five battlemovers, a dozen Armored Troopers they 'borrowed' from the N-Police SWAT unit, several combat boomers, and two or three hundred people in body armor carrying heavy weapons." She looked up and shook her head, "The place is sealed up tighter than our hardsuits."  
  
Though the other Knight Sabers couldn't see it, Sylia's frown deepened. While the thirty-story N-Police building was not as imposing as the ADP tower, it still held an impressive set of defense systems which the terrorists could now utilize.  
  
"Mackie, keep the bay doors open and do a flyby. We'll enter through the tenth floor window on the left of the building."  
  
//Roger that, sis.//  
  
  
  
On the street below...  
  
Leon leaned back and cursed under his breath. The damage report on the ADP tower was still going up, but it was confirmed that the Armored Trooper hangar was one of the primary targets. Only a few dozen had survived the attack. A modified Armored Trooper transport rumbled up the road. Leon frowned for a moment, then he recognized it.  
  
"Time to rock the house," he said, grinning.  
  
Then all hell broke loose.  
  
  
  
Moments later...  
  
The Knight Sabers readied and raised their weapons.  
  
The martial artists dropped into fighting stances.  
  
Sweat creased Sylia's brow beneath her helmet. She heard the faint hum of Linna's monowhips as they charged with energy to her right. Her sensors informed her that, to her left, Priss's trigger finger twitched slightly, just a few micrograms of pressure short of sending a lethal railgun spike into the fanged superboomer.  
  
Nene edged out from behind her. Her own sensors told her that the youngest Knight Saber was performing a full active sensor scan on the two mystery figures in front of them. The red helmet slightly shook from side to side uncertainly as she heard Nene's voice over the comm.  
  
"I'm not getting anything that makes any sense, Sylia. All my sensors say they're both human."  
  
Several long moments ticked by.  
  
The two groups eyed each other warily until a grenade landed in between them. The redhead reacted before anyone could even register what was happening. She kicked the grenade aside as the other superboomer moved to stand between the attacker and the Knight Sabers. He grunted as several bullets struck him, then he proceeded to take out the terrorist with a plasma blast.  
  
The white Knight Saber tilted her head toward the redhead. "It seems we're on the same side again."  
  
The redhead shrugged, "Why wouldn't we be?" She turned to her companion, "C'mon, Ryouga. We've got hostages to save and bad guys to pound."  
  
Ryouga looked up and down the stairwell. "Which way, Ranma?"  
  
Ranma frowned, "I'll make my way up. You search the lower levels."  
  
Ryouga nodded, "Right." Neither of them understood why, but since arriving on this world, Ryouga hadn't gotten lost once, which was fortuitous, given the circumstances.  
  
He flipped over the railing down to the next landing. Ranma sprang from the railing in a modified triangle jump.  
  
Sylia turned her head to face the other Knight Sabers and said over the comm, "Priss, Linna, you two follow Ryouga. Nene, you're with me."  
  
"Right."  
  
The green and blue Knight Sabers followed Ryouga's example and leaped down, using their jump jets to slow their descent. Sylia and Nene activated their flight systems and flew up the stairwell to catch up with the redheaded martial artist.  
  
  
  
At the front gate...  
  
Leon raced over to the modified Armored Trooper transport. He fervently hoped that it contained what he thought it did. Behind it were two more AT transports. Eight K-12S Armored Troopers stood ready to attack.  
  
Only moments earlier, explosions ripped through N-Police Central, sending huge chunks of metal and concrete raining down on them.  
  
He pulled himself into the AT transport's cargo bay and grinned at the DD Battlemover. Well, it wasn't _really_ the DD, but a modified replica with a different paint job some of his mechanic buddies had managed to build with some squirreled-away parts and materials.  
  
He was just strapping himself in when the transport rocked violently. He closed and sealed the cockpit, and the massive blue war machine stood.  
  
Around him, a dozen K-10s engaged the eight K-12s that had just recently arrived, and a handful of combat boomers battled ADP Tac Squad troopers and N-Police officers.  
  
Two gunmetal grey battlemovers loomed in front of him. He grimaced as the sensor readout scrolled by on his viewscreen. *Gonna be a rough night,* he thought.  
  
A pair of massive vulcan guns began spitting bullets at him.  
  
***********************************************************************  
Author's Postscript:  
  
Hey, folks. Don't you just love a cliffhanger? *ducks*  
  
Seriously, it was either cut it off here or end up with part two twice as large as part one.  
  
Send all comments and questions to cyclone@citynet.net or cyclone_274@hotmail.com  
  
Send all flames to quincy@genom.com; they will be forwarded to the appropriate people. ^_^  
  
This is Cyclone, signing off. 


	4. Episode Three--Terrorists (2/2)

***********************************************************************  
  
Based on stuff that's not mine...  
  
Written by Cyclone...  
  
Whirlwind Productions presents...  
  
BOOMER 1/2  
  
Episode Three--Terrorists, part two  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
Ryouga dropped down to the ground floor. Flanking him were the green and blue Knight Sabers. Six blue boomers turned to face them and roared. The two Knight Sabers broke to either side and each engaged two, leaving Ryouga with the center two.  
  
The first 55-C swung its right fist in a massive haymaker. Ryouga caught the punch in his left hand and pulled, removing the boomer's arm from its socket. He ducked under the next blow and smashed his forearm into its midsection, neatly ripping it in half.  
  
The other biomechanoid fired its mouth cannon at him. He ducked under the laser beam and flung the first boomer's spontaneously amputated arm at it.  
  
"Ha! Is that the best you can do?" Ryouga taunted.  
  
Several panels opened on the boomer's chest, and a heat beam spat out. Ryouga leaped over the beam (not an easy task in a room with a ceiling only three meters high) and cupped his hands together.  
  
"SHISHI HOUKOU DAN!"  
  
As he landed, he turned and saw that the Knight Sabers needed no help. The blue one's two foes were leaking brown lubricant from damages inflicted by nasty-looking long metal spikes. There was nothing left of the green's opponents save for two piles of shredded metal and biomechanical parts.  
  
They continued down.  
  
  
  
High above...  
  
Ranma leaped up to the twenty-third floor, the white and red Knight Sabers immediately behind him. She knocked the two Knight Sabers away as a rocket soared toward them. She deftly brought her arm up and deflected the rocket.  
  
The explosion behind and to her left rocked the building.  
  
One of the offices had all the glass knocked out of its windows and several tables brought up to barricade the windows and doors. The end of a large metal tube poked out above one of the tables, pointed at the three of them. A flip-out targeting reticle was positioned over the right eye of the man who hefted it on his shoulder.  
  
Ranma snarled as she cupped her hands and readied a ki blast.  
  
"Don't try it, hero!" One of the terrorists stood with a data operator held in front of him. He held a gun to her temple.  
  
Ranma's eyes narrowed. *Coward.*  
  
The terrorist grinned, "An' we got two more cops back here, so don't get any bright ideas."  
  
The martial artist focused her senses. She detected a total of five auras. Three hostages and the two terrorists. She briefly realized that the two Knight Sabers were no longer behind her. *Good. Maybe I can distract 'em long enough for them to nail 'em.*  
  
"Now be a good hero and step out where we can shoot you."  
  
Ranma stepped out around the corner. The man with the pistol pointed it at her and fired. That was his mistake.  
  
Ranma sidestepped the bullet as metallic white arms ripped through the plaster wall behind the terrorist and pulled him into a headlock. The other terrorist panicked and swung the rocket launcher around. Ranma dashed forward and struck him in the back of the neck, disabling him.  
  
The white Knight Saber let the limp terrorist slump to the ground as Ranma turned to check on the hostages. The three hostages were physically unharmed, but none of them was responding to her. The red Knight Saber shook her head, "They're fine. They're just in shock right now."  
  
Ranma nodded. "Let's keep moving, then."  
  
  
  
In the N-Police level B3 garage...  
  
Ryouga looked around warily. The two other basement levels were empty and this was the second to last level. The complete absence of guards after the ground floor set him and the two Knight Sabers with him on edge.  
  
He visually scanned the parking level and spotted a trio of SWAT vans parked at the far end. "Over there!"  
  
The three of them headed over to the vans, cautiously watching their surroundings.  
  
"I don't like this, Priss."  
  
"I know, it's gotta be a trap."  
  
The two Knight Sabers let their apparent ally get ahead of them. Both were eyeing their sensors nervously. Ryouga didn't notice as he looked through the window of the first van. Inside were several unconscious uniformed people, mostly data operators and dispatchers.  
  
"Look out!"  
  
He spun. The other two vans were ripped apart from the inside as two massive robots, battlemovers, freed themselves of their vehicular disguises.  
  
One, gunmetal grey and very intimidating, turned and launched itself at the two Knight Sabers via rocket thrusters. The other, a far more menacing black machine that seemed to melt into the shadows, blasted at him with two palm-mounted laser cannon.  
  
He ducked under the coruscating red beams and charged toward the massive black battlemover.  
  
"BAKUSAITENKETSU!"  
  
The legendary Breaking Point Technique failed him this time. While an explosion did indeed erupt in the battlemover's armor, it was small and localized. His opponent clenched metalshod fists together and slammed downward, smashing his face into the concrete floor.  
  
  
  
On the other side of the garage level...  
  
The grey battlemover slowed to a halt and apparently sized them up. Suddenly, a massive vulcan gun swung out from its back over its right shoulder and opened fire on the blue Knight Saber.  
  
Priss leaped out of the way and returned fire with her railgun. The spikes embedded themselves into the battlemover's armor but had no other visible effect.  
  
Linna leaped toward the battlemover, hoping to catch it off guard, and spun, charging her monowhips. The battlemover proved more nimble than it appeared as it not only evaded the whips, but swung around and slashed at her with monoblade that extended from its right forearm.  
  
She barely dodged the blade but found herself one monowhip short as the battlemover continued its advance.  
  
  
  
On the top floor...  
  
Ranma looked around. The top two floors were hangar bays for the N-Police's helicopter force. Behind her were the two Knight Sabers that had followed her. Standing near a roof access stairwell was a midnight blue battlemover and a large man wearing a grey helmet and a matching grey bodysuit that covered his entire body. He spun as Ranma and the two Knight Sabers emerged.  
  
"Kill them," the man said, gesturing casually toward the three intruders before he ran up the stairwell. The battlemover stirred to life and focused on them. A pair of vulcan guns mounted on its shoulders began firing. Ranma shoved the two Knight Sabers to one side as she dove for the other.  
  
"Go after him! I'll take care of Big Blue here!"  
  
Sylia and Nene hesitated for a moment but complied.  
  
Ranma watched out of the corner of her eye to make sure they made it and caught a particle beam in the side for her inattention. She snarled as she picked herself up.  
  
A panel on the battlemover's abdomen suddenly dropped open and Ranma swore as half a dozen guided mini-missiles streaked toward her.  
  
"MOUKO TAKABISHA!"  
  
The ki blast detonated the missiles, and Ranma coughed through the cloud of smoke. She looked up as a shadow formed through the cloud of smoke. The battlemover had used the smoke as cover to close in. It began to blast her with a seemingly endless barrage of laser fire.  
  
  
  
On the roof...  
  
Sylia and Nene halted as they looked around. There was no sign of their quarry. Suddenly, a particle beam scorched a path through the air toward them. They dove to either side, and Sylia fired a blistering volley of laser fire toward the source of the particle beam.  
  
"Nene! Can you get a sensor lock on him?"  
  
The electronics specialist shook her head, "I'm not detecting _anything_, Sylia. Something's jamming my sensors."  
  
Nene began crossing the roof, scanning methodically as she attempted to break through or trace the jamming signal. Sylia visually scanned the roof while checking her onboard sensor suite. She suddenly noticed a faint shimmering at the edge of her vision and spun.  
  
She fired her laser cannon several times but could not tell whether or not she had hit her target. She eyed that area closely as she held her fire. Suddenly, another particle beam streaked out and slammed into her chestplate, knocking her back against the wall of the roof access stairwell.  
  
Nene periodically whipped her head from side to side, trying to pin down their opponent with her sensors. Suddenly, she was shoved forward as the majority of her sensors died. Her eyes widened as she reached back and felt her sensor pack. Twin gashes ran diagonally across her sensor pack, occasionally sparking with electricity. She hurriedly cut off power to it.  
  
"Sylia, my sensor pack's down. I still can't find him! What do I do?"  
  
There was no answer.  
  
"Sylia?" She turned and shrieked as the white hardsuit was flung straight at her.  
  
They collapsed in a heap. Nene groaned and pulled herself up. She looked down. "Sylia? Sylia, wake up."  
  
Then she saw the blood.  
  
  
  
Underground...  
  
Priss pulled herself out of the small crater she had formed when the battlemover had backhanded her into the wall. Trying to close in while it was busy with Linna had turned out to not be a good idea.  
  
Whoever was in the battlemover was very good. Every attempt Linna had made to close in had been thwarted even while the battlemover kept closing in on Priss time after time.  
  
Linna was currently doing her best to dodge a spray of bullets from the battlemover's shoulder-mounted vulcan gun. Priss lined up her railgun, aiming for the base of the vulcan gun.  
  
The battlemover spun and stretched out a hand toward her. A small port in the palm opened, and a small missile streaked toward her. She cursed and threw herself to the side. The missile flew past and detonated in mid-air as it passed her. As it knocked her over, she thought, *Rangefinder.*  
  
Meanwhile, Linna dashed toward their foe, evading the lethal spray of ammunition the vulcan gun kept spitting out at her, somehow tracking her movements just barely a fraction of a second too slowly.  
  
Inside the massive battlesuit, the pilot grinned as he watched the blue Knight Saber crumple to the ground. His eye suddenly caught the vulcan's autotracker readout, and he turned his machine's head back to face forward. Filling his viewscreen now was the image of the green Knight Saber as she unleashed a devastating punch assisted by her knuckle bomber.  
  
  
  
One floor down...  
  
Ryouga struggled to his feet. The black battlemover had slammed him right through the floor and down into the fourth basement parking level. Currently, he was having considerable difficulty fighting it, since his own favored tactics relied on his superior strength and endurance. He was swiftly disabused of this notion as the battlemover took hit after hit without even slowing down.  
  
So far, it had not used any weapons other than the palm lasers it had tried to nail him with in the beginning. It seemed to prefer unarmed combat and was quite proficient at it. He had lost his umbrella somewhere soon after the battlemover had slammed him through to this level.  
  
"SHISHI HOUKOU DAN!" This was the third ki blast he had thrown, and it had little more effect than the first two. The battlemover shrugged off the blast and charged, rearing back a fist.  
  
Ryouga expected this, and this time he was ready for it.  
  
He leaped over the battlemover and landed on its back. He drew back his fist and hammered the battlemover's rear armor, again and again. Ignoring his bruised knuckles, he kept pounding and didn't stop.  
  
That is, he didn't stop until the battlemover slammed its back into the wall, Ryouga first.  
  
  
  
In the top hangar bay...  
  
Ranma was in trouble. She couldn't get close to the battlemover without getting hit by its multiple chest-mounted laser batteries. She had hit the battlemover with three ki blasts already, to little effect.  
  
It didn't help that it had a lightning-fast reaction time.  
  
Its long-range weapon systems provided enough of a fire volume to keep her at bay for the most part. She hadn't even had a chance to hit it with an Amaguriken. Then again, considering how it shrugged off her ki blasts, she wasn't sure it would do any good anyway.  
  
*That leaves me with one option,* she thought.  
  
"HIRYUU SHOUTEN HA REVISED! HORIZONTAL BLAST!"  
  
The massive blast sent the battlemover sliding back and through the far wall.  
  
  
  
Down below...  
  
Smoke roiled everywhere. Leon, with the help of two K-12s, had already disabled and crippled one of the grey battlemovers, but the other had launched several smoke grenades. Leon looked around and switched to infrared. Suddenly, the hulks of fallen Armored Troopers and a massive humanoid figure right in front of him became clear.  
  
"Oh, shit!" He threw the modified DD replica back and fired its two shoulder-mounted triple autocannon ("borrowed" from a couple of scrapped Firebees) at the battlemover.  
  
20mm shells shredded through the smoke and riddled the other battlemover's chestplate. The hulking grey war machine stumbled back from the impacts and returned fire with a forearm-mounted 7.62mm machinegun. Its shoulder-mounted vulcan gun had already been reduced to a mangled piece of metal.  
  
The other battlemover's bullets spanged harmlessly off the replica's battered armor. *A few more seconds of fire should take care of this guy,* Leon thought. His grin faded as the sounds of gunfire vanished, leaving only the whine of spinning barrels. A quick glance confirmed his fears.  
  
He was out of ammunition.  
  
Above, a section of the top floor wall exploded outward. The grey battlemover looked up. Leon charged, thrusters firing. *One chance,* he thought.  
  
He tackled the other battlemover and bowled it over. He slammed one metalshod fist into the battlemover's sensor head, caving it in. He rose and eyed the fallen battlemover. It didn't move.  
  
  
  
On the roof...  
  
Sylia hissed as she painfully sucked in a breath, searching fervently for their opponent. Her upper left arm had twin gashes in it, and she was certain a couple of ribs had been broken. It had not been fun discovering that their opponent had somehow jammed their comm systems as well as their sensors. They were now relying on hand gestures and external speakers, which did not sit well with either of them.  
  
Suddenly, the building beneath them trembled and shook as a section of the wall on the floor below exploded. The blue battlemover the redhaired superboomer had been fighting flew out at the end of a massive blue energy beam.  
  
The beam disappeared, and the battlemover activated a thruster pack and flew to the roof. Its sensor head focused on them. The armor was scarred and dented, but no critical damage was discernable.  
  
The two Knight Sabers backed away from the monolithic blue war machine. It raised its right arm and a harmless blue laser sprang to life from its forearm. The beam centered on Sylia's chest. She barely dove out of the way when a bolt of electricity shot through the air to where she had been standing a moment earlier.  
  
A section of the roof exploded upwards behind the battlemover, and the redhaired superboomer, Ranma, leaped out. "KACHUU TENSHIN AMAGURIKEN!"  
  
The battlemover shuddered under the assault as Sylia and Nene added their own laser volleys to Ranma's barrage of punches. A panel on the battlemover's chest opened, revealing three dozen laser lenses, which opened fire on the two Knight Sabers.  
  
  
  
Underground...  
  
Priss and Linna dropped through the hole and found the fanged superboomer, Ryouga, smashed up against a wall as the black battlemover pounded him relentlessly.  
  
The blue Knight Saber fired her railgun as Linna closed in, readying her knuckle bomber. The black battlemover turned and sidestepped, apparently vanishing into the darkness. It reappeared moments later, slamming Priss against the wall. Linna spun and lashed out with her surviving monowhip.  
  
The battlemover stepped back, avoiding the monowhip, and fired two coruscating red beams of laser fire. Priss groggily recovered and fired her railgun. The spikes glanced off the armor, much to her amazement.  
  
Suddenly, Ryouga was in front of her, battering the battlemover's dented rear armor. It spun and swung at him with an open hand. Wicked-looking claws now extended from its fingers.  
  
He grit his teeth and whipped out his belt. The belt straightened and formed a monoblade. He parried, and the battlemover's hand came off, sliced at the wrist.  
  
Behind the battlemover, Linna spun in the air, slicing off the battlemover's sensor head. It suddenly froze, as if it had just lost power.  
  
  
  
On the roof...  
  
"Saber Prime, I think I found a weak spot! Hit the laser batteries while they're firing!" Even without the sensor pack, Nene's sensors were still superior to the other hardsuits' by the simple virtue of her hardsuit's stripped-down weapon systems allowing more space.  
  
Sylia nodded grimly. She cut her thrusters as the lasers traced a path up to her position. She leveled her arm and fired. Her thin laser beam speared toward the exposed chest cavity of the battlemover and struck between the central lenses.  
  
The massive war machine stumbled and dropped to its knees. The laser batteries were still firing, but now moved erraticly, searing into the rooftop and lancing into the night sky. One beam sliced across the roof and struck a shimmering figure. The figure dropped onto its back and became fully visible again.  
  
Neither Ranma nor the two Knight Sabers noticed this, as they were busy trying to avoid getting hit themselves. Sylia, finding the comm frequency clear again, transmitted, "Mackie, we need air support."  
  
//Roger that, sis. On my way.//  
  
Moments later, the KnightWing flew in and hovered overhead. Twin railguns thumped twice, and four steel spikes, each about three centimeters in diameter and thirty centimeters long, stapled the battlemover to the roof.  
  
The aircraft suddenly rocked as an explosion erupted on its underside. Ranma and the two Knight Sabers turned as Mackie struggled with the plane's controls, taking it out of range.  
  
Standing in the doorway of a helicopter was a large man, carrying a rocket launcher and wearing the tattered remains of the grey stealthsuit he was wearing earlier.  
  
A metallic gleam was evident on his chest and left arm. A somewhat bulky metallic gauntlet covered his right forearm and hand. A livid scar on his left cheek made him look all the more sinister as he grinned, "The name is Cirrus Clayborne. Remember it, interlopers."  
  
He withdrew into the chopper and slammed the hatch shut. Ranma launched a plasma blast that struck the door with no apparent effect. Sylia and Nene both opened fire as the aircraft took off, but their lasers were no more effective than the superboomer's plasma blast had been.  
  
  
  
GENOM Tower...  
  
"Sir, the Firestorm, Shadow Warrior, and Mjollnir prototypes have all been confirmed destroyed."  
  
Smith nodded. "Disappointing. It seems the CLA was not able to perform as advertised. Very well, prepare a press conference." His oily grin returned, "The outstanding performance of our anti-boomer boomers should bolster the public's confidence in GENOM."  
  
***********************************************************************  
Author's Postscript:  
  
Okay, folks, I have only vague ideas what part four's gonna be about, so ideas are welcome. Send them, along with any comments, questions, or praises (a guy can hope, can't he?) to either cyclone@citynet.net or cyclone_274@hotmail.com  
  
Send all flames to quincy@genom.com ^_^  
  
This is Cyclone, signing off. 


	5. Episode Four--Puzzles

***********************************************************************  
  
Based on stuff that's not mine...  
  
Written by Cyclone...  
  
Whirlwind Productions presents...  
  
BOOMER 1/2  
  
Episode Four--Puzzles  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
An elaborate testing facility lay silent. Various boomers linked to the project stood dormant and unmoving. Among them was one destined to rise again, reborn like the phoenix it was.  
  
Deep within the bowels of Alex-02, GENOM's central computer, another phoenix stirred. Twice it had died, and its second rebirth was nearing. Even now, its followers gathered together and prepared for its return. This time, no one, not even the Knight Sabers or that irritating ADP officer, would stop it from achieving its destiny.  
  
  
  
Raven's Garage...  
  
Dr. Raven shook his head. "The KnightWing's vertical thrusters have been severely compromised. It's a miracle Mackie could even get it here in one piece. The damages will take days to assess, probably weeks to repair."  
  
Sylia nodded, "I see. What about the other damages we've taken?"  
  
"Bah! I don't see why you waste my time looking at minor things like that. You and Mackie are more than capable of handling the damages to the hardsuits."  
  
  
  
ADP Headquarters...  
  
Leon sighed as the battered DD replica was hauled into the repair bay. He had the distinct feeling it was going to be scrapped to rebuild the lost choppers and Armored Troopers. However, that was not what was currently nagging at his mind. Earlier that day, GENOM Special Assistant Smith had arrived, wanting the three stolen "boomer vehicle control link-ups" returned.  
  
Two of the battlemovers at N-Police Central, a midnight blue one and a black one, were controlled by a boomer brain directly connected to them, much like the red one that had attacked the bank and ADP Headquarters. The other three battlemovers, grey and identical in design to each other, had normal cockpit control systems and cyborg pilots.  
  
That was part of the peculiarity. They still didn't know anything about the CLA's goals or even what CLA stood for, but every member of the CLA they had found, dead or alive, had at least some cybernetics.  
  
That fact nagged at his mind, as though he were missing something very important, but he couldn't figure out what.  
  
*Well, Daley'll be back tomorrow. Maybe he can figure it out.*  
  
  
  
Elsewhere...  
  
Cirrus was getting impatient. From the fiasco at N-Police Central, it was evident that the CLA's standard battlemovers weren't capable of handling the Knight Sabers. This meant they needed an upgrade, and now this _worm_ had the gall to tell him it would take a _month_?!  
  
He grabbed the front of the technician's shirt and lifted the terrified man up until the toes of his boots dangled just above the floor, "I want at least half the battlemovers completely upgraded and _all_ the battlemovers and pilots upgraded to the DNI control system by next week. Do I make myself clear?"  
  
"Y-y-yes, sir. C-crystal clear, sir."  
  
"Excellent," he grinned as he let go of the technician. He watched disgustedly as the technician scurried off in fear. *Humans. How... flawed.*  
  
  
  
Three days later...  
  
Quincy frowned. The development of the newest line of boomers was going slowly, too slowly for his tastes. With Project NERIMA a seeming disaster, he was forced to accelerate the development of more typical boomer systems.  
  
He was mildly disappointed with the staff of CCI. The small company had shown promise when GENOM first bought them out, but without the rogue, much of their work would all be for nought.  
  
Still, he wasn't about to write it off just yet. Even without the rogue, they had made some impressive advances which could prove very profitable. Perhaps it would be best to reactivate the Project.  
  
  
  
The Tendo Dojo...  
  
"Where _is_ that jerk?!" Akane snarled. "We're gonna be late!"  
  
Kasumi smiled radiantly, "Oh, I'm sorry. I almost forgot. He said something last night about a training trip."  
  
Genma puffed out his chest, "Hahaha! That's m'boy! Always willing to do anything for the Art."  
  
Soun yelled at Genma, forming his Demon Head, "And he left Akane behind?!?"  
  
Genma blanched, "Now, now, Tendo. D-don't overreact. I'm sure he did it to keep your daughter safe from the perils of being a martial artist."  
  
Akane fumed, "Are you saying I'm not a martial artist?!"  
  
Mayhem and futile excuses ensued.  
  
  
  
MegaTokyo, four days after the battle at N-Police Central...  
  
Ranma headed for the Canyons dejectedly. He had followed up on yet another lead on the nanban but came up empty-handed. Again.  
  
Given his mood and the jostling crowd of District 7, it was quite understandable when he bumped into someone. He reacted before he realized it. He caught the woman with his right arm before she could hit the pavement and snagged her briefcase with his left hand. He helped her to her feet and handed her her briefcase.  
  
"Are you okay?"  
  
She blinked and began backing away frantically, as if she had seen a ghost. He gaped. She didn't stop. She stumbled back away from him, muttering under her breath fearfully, and disappeared into the crowd, despite Ranma's attempts to follow her.  
  
He frowned thoughtfully, *What the hell just happened? I know that was her, even if she did look a bit older. Why did she freak out like that? She looked like she'd seen... a ghost?*  
  
Realization hit him like one of Ryouga's Full Shishi Houkou Dans.  
  
  
  
Nearby...  
  
Nabiki Tendo leaned against the side of a building in a mixture of relief and worry. She had no doubt that it was Ranma she had run into, but she didn't know what to do. It was obvious what any of her colleagues would do in this situation, but she wasn't sure if she could do it.  
  
The Tower wanted him, but did she want to give him to them?  
  
  
  
One morning...  
  
Mackie left after his daily morning intrusion into Sylia's private suite. She sipped her coffee as she paged through the Kenzai VPE. The terrorist takeover of N-Police Central was still making headlines as various journalists speculated on how the N-Police intended to prevent a repeat incident.  
  
Something caught her eye, and she paused. It was the horoscope for Gemini.  
  
"GEMINI--The Twins  
  
You will encounter an old acquaintance you thought you would never see again. This person will change your outlook on life forever. Learn all you can and remember: Not all is as it appears."  
  
She frowned. There was something very suspicious about the prediction, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. *Very strange...*  
  
She finished her coffee and put her cup and printed periodical down. As she gazed on the city waking up to a new day, she pondered the peculiar prediction.  
  
A small red light on the security control box next to her door began blinking as a high-pitched whine began. She turned and bolted past the small coffee table, her robe knocking the cup over, as she made her way to the door.  
  
She glanced at the light, determining the site of the disruption, and headed for the workshop. Inside, she worried. This could be her worst nightmare come true. Outside, she was cool and calm as ice.  
  
Unnoticed within her computer's hard drive, something changed the text of the Gemini horoscope back to its original prediction of hardship and danger.  
  
  
  
Moments later...  
  
As she entered the workshop, Sylia came across a sheepish-looking Mackie, who spun to face her. He stood scratching the back of his head with one hand and carrying a spent fire extinguisher in the other.  
  
"Ah, sorry, sis. False alarm. I, uh, kinda fried one of my projects."  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"I was trying to create a better fuel formula for Priss's bike when it... sorta blew up in my face."  
  
She shook her head and chuckled. "Oh, Mackie."  
  
  
  
That night...  
  
Madigan nodded approvingly. It was complete. All that remained was for its biosystems to recover from the neural installation. It was a tricky process neither she nor the biotechnicians wanted to rush if they could help it. They had lost eleven potential "donors" to failed attempts before perfecting the process.  
  
Moments later, a biotechnician gave her the okay. She followed him to the room in which it stood, jet black and imposing.  
  
"State your designation and function," she said calmly.  
  
The boomer came to life and spoke with a deep, smooth voice that seemed to echo off the titanium steel walls, "I am the Bu-666-M Marauder. My function is to serve the interests of GENOM Company Limited and its Chairman."  
  
"And your first priority?"  
  
She thought that, had it been possible, the Bu-666-M would have grinned, "The elimination of the Knight Sabers."  
  
  
  
Two days later...  
  
Sylia cocked an eyebrow. "I thought you were going underground?"  
  
Fargo shrugged, "Heat's died down a bit in the past couple of weeks. Now everyone's curious about this new player in town, the CLA."  
  
The leader of the Knight Sabers nodded, "Indeed. Do _you_ have information regarding them?"  
  
"Nothin' much. Just the name, their purported goals, and a little info on their leader."  
  
Sylia motioned for him to continue.  
  
"He's a fruitcake boomeroid named Cirrus Clayborne. Extensive cybernetics, most of it custom-designed. He was one of the forerunners in cybertech before he disappeared six years ago."  
  
Sylia nodded thoughtfully.  
  
Fargo frowned, "But that's not why I contacted you."  
  
"Oh?"  
  
"Someone's been poking around, trying to offer up a job for you specifically. When she was assured I could contact you directly, she gave me this," he handed a datadisc to Sylia and continued, "and said to give it to you unaccessed and that it explained everything. She kept looking over her shoulder as though she thought she was being followed or watched."  
  
Sylia held up the datadisc speculatively. "Could it be a setup?"  
  
"If it is, it's not GENOM. She's one of GENOM's researchers, but there wasn't anything fishy about her background. Nothing was covered up once I started digging. She used to work for a smaller company, CCI, before it went under. GENOM bought them out. I'd say she's probably looking for some protection from GENOM."  
  
"I see."  
  
  
  
Later that night...  
  
Sylia accessed the datadisc on an isolated computer. The data on the potential client that popped up was familiar. The client was the head of GENOM's Project NERIMA and wanted a friend of hers protected for an indefinite period.  
  
It seemed she was going to have to arrange a meeting.  
  
  
  
Much later...  
  
She shivered and pulled her coat closer around her. The park was cold this late at night, but this was where the Knight Sabers had insisted on meeting.  
  
"Ms. Tendo?"  
  
She whirled around, a scream trying to escape her throat. A moment later, she realized that the person who spoke was a woman in a white and blue suit of powered armor. Saber Prime.  
  
"Y-yes?"  
  
"You wanted to hire us?"  
  
She nodded.  
  
"Details?"  
  
"A... friend of mine needs protection. The Tower wants him, and... and I don't want anything to happen to him. I don't want him to know he's being looked after." She shook her head as though frustrated with her own ignorance, "Oh, I don't even know where he is. I... I can pay with information. I know about the latest projects... in particular, what's being planned against you. It's all in here." She handed the Knight Saber a datadisc.  
  
Saber Prime nodded. "I see."  
  
Under her helmet, Sylia frowned. So far as any of her or Fargo's contacts knew, GENOM considered the Knight Sabers an insignificant thorn not worth eliminating. If this woman was telling the truth, then she needed to know when that had changed. The client here was also acting borderline hysterical, which didn't match her psych profile at all.  
  
The leader of the Knight Sabers spoke again, "We'll find and protect your friend. He won't even know we're there. That is, we will so long as you tell us everything about this project against us... and about Project NERIMA."  
  
Nabiki paled. She backed away, "No. No, I can't. I... I _can't_! That's my life's work! I can't!" She spun and ran.  
  
Sylia frowned as she watched the woman disappear into the shadows of the park. She held up and contemplated the datadisc. The woman was very, very nervous. Everything in Ms. Tendo's history suggested a very sharp and collected mind, one that didn't scare easily...  
  
  
  
Several days later...  
  
The eight boomers, an antiquated mix of five 43-Cs, two 19-Fs, and a single 10-B, were proving to be much more difficult than they had any right to be. Theoretically, the AD Police should have been able to handle the outdated biomechanoids fairly easily with only some token difficulty with the Bu-10-B.  
  
Instead, they were finding themselves hard-pressed to even hit them. When the AD Police had arrived, the boomers regrouped and arranged themselves in an easily defendable position.  
  
They had backed themselves into an alleyway and knocked down a building behind them. The 10-B stood with its back to the collapsed rubble, providing cover fire. In front were the 43-Cs, and the Skyhunters hovered above, never leaving the area covered by the 10-B's firepower.  
  
"Damnit!" Leon swore. "Get some Hornets over here!" The setup the boomers had made turned the front of the alleyway into a murderously effective free fire zone that made any ground assault futile. The hulks of two of the older K-11s (most of the K-12s had been destroyed in the attack on the ADP Headquarters or the subsequent battle at N-Police Central) lay motionless in front of the alley.  
  
Sylia frowned. The boomers were showing a level of tactical planning typically beyond the capabilities of even the more advanced boomers they usually fought.  
  
"Knight Sabers, GO!"  
  
The four hardsuited women leaped from the Sky Carrier to land behind the two downed K-11s. Bullets shrieked past as the 10-B fired at them futilely, inferior hardware preventing it from taking advantage of such an excellent tactical position.  
  
The K-11 shielding Priss and Linna exploded, raining molten shrapnel on them. A stream of bullets cut through the air and fire, searching out the two Knight Sabers who leaped away. Priss returned fire with her railgun.  
  
The railgun spikes ventilated the 10-B, one slicing into the elbow of its cannon arm, another skewering the opposite shoulder, a third tore into its left sensor boom, and the last two penetrated the torso. The older armor was far from up to standards.  
  
Linna fired her jumpjets and spun in midair. She struck one of the Skyhunters in the face, caving its head in and blasting it off with her knuckle bomber. The other Skyhunter was shredded by a heavy crossfire from a pair of Firebees.  
  
On the ground, Sylia and Nene each destroyed a 43-C, while K-11s easily mopped up the remaining three.  
  
Unseen by anyone, a shadowy figure observed the battle with great interest, cataloging everything it saw.  
  
  
  
GENOM Tower...  
  
"I do not recall authorizing the release of any boomers recently."  
  
The two Special Assistants looked at each other and frowned. Smith spoke first, "Mr. Chairman, I have not ordered the release of any boomers in the past month."  
  
Madigan shook her head, "Nor have I, Mr. Chairman."  
  
"Then explain this," Quincy depressed a button, and the Multivision flared to life, displaying a news channel stretched over all its screens.  
  
//...and the AD Police has yet to make any comments on the outdated combat boomers that appeared on a rampage earlier this evening. In other news...// The news anchor was cut off as Quincy deactivated the Multivision.  
  
"Well?"  
  
The room went silent for a long moment. Quincy nodded, "I see. Madigan, investigate this matter and deal with it."  
  
"Yes, Mr. Chairman."  
  
  
  
Several days later...  
  
"This is the third baffling incident in the past week," the reporter said, "and the AD Police has reportedly made no headway in uncovering the cause of the recent spate of berserk boomers. What makes these rampages unusual is that the boomers in question are older production models, makes previously known for stability and reliability, including the popular model 77-L construction boomer, two of which were involved in this latest incident. Thankfully, there were no casualties, and the property damage is at a minimum."  
  
Leon sighed as the salvage truck lugged away the remains of two 77-Ls, "I dunno _what's_ goin' on, but I kinda hope it stays this way."  
  
"What are you talking about, Leon-chan?" Daley stared incredulously. His partner shrugged.  
  
"At least then we wouldn't have to worry about top-of-the-line combat boomers, now would we?"  
  
The redhead rolled his eyes, "I suppose you have a point, Leon-chan. While we're at it, maybe we can convince the terrorists to take a vacation too."  
  
Leon chuckled, "Sarcasm doesn't suit you, Daley." He turned to the foreman who was responsible for overlooking the boomers as they worked. "So, any idea why the boomers went berserk?"  
  
The man shook his head, "Not a one. I just fired 'em up this morning an' they went nuts. They've been off work for maintenance for the past two days."  
  
"Maintenance? Any particular reason?"  
  
The foreman shrugged, "They were acting kinda quirky all last week, right after their regular check up." He groaned and buried his face in his hands, "My boss is gonna _kill_ me!"  
  
  
  
Late one evening...  
  
Nabiki yawned as she flung her coat on a chair. It had been a long day, and even her anxiety over Ranma was dulled by the research they'd been working on lately. She _really_ hated overtime, even with the extra pay. As she nuked something vaguely resembling dinner, the shrill shriek of her vidphone rang out. She yawned again and picked it up.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Nabiki, it's me."  
  
"Oh, hi, Kasumi. What's up?"  
  
"Well, I'm just checking up on you. Are you all right?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"  
  
"Oh, nevermind. So, have you heard anything about the search for Ranma?"  
  
Nabiki shook her head, "Not a word." She sighed, more at lying to Kasumi than at not hearing about Ranma. Still, she didn't want to get anyone else entangled in the web of lies, let alone Kasumi.  
  
  
  
Minutes later...  
  
Kasumi hung up and frowned. Whatever she said, something was wrong with Nabiki. It was also clear that the mention of Ranma's name triggered... something.  
  
"What's wrong, Kasumi?"  
  
"It's nothing, Ono."  
  
Her fiancee leaned over her and wrapped his arms around her, "Oh, come on, Kasumi-chan, I know you too well. What is it?"  
  
She sighed. He was right. "It's Nabiki. Something's wrong, but she won't tell me!" She turned in his arms and looked into his eyes, "Do you have any idea how frustrating that is?"  
  
He let go and stood, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "I can't say I know how you feel, but I do know how much this must be bothering you. Maybe I should poke around a little, see what might be up?" He leaned forward and kissed her gently on the lips.  
  
"Mmm... thanks," she mumbled out the side of her mouth.  
  
  
  
The Tendo Dojo...  
  
Akane snuck through the house. Ranma had been gone for weeks, and no one had heard a word from him. She was worried. She wasn't the only one worried either, but no one had any idea where he was or how to go about finding him.  
  
Until now.  
  
She slipped into Happosai's room. The old lecher was out on his nightly panty raid, so there wasn't much chance of being caught.  
  
Still...  
  
She quickly found what she was looking for. She held up the nanban. It was pretty clear that Happosai had tried to glue it back together again. She really hoped this worked.  
  
"Take me to where Ranma went."  
  
The room was bathed in a brilliant flash of light.  
  
  
  
Elsewhere...  
  
Akane groaned as she regained consciousness. She found herself strapped to a metal table.  
  
*What the heck?*  
  
She strained for a moment and ripped free of the restraints. She grinned with pride as she contemplated the sore bands where the restraints had bitten in. She may not be as strong as Shampoo or Ranma, but she was still pretty strong.  
  
She saw no sign of the nanban, but she doubted whoever had tied her up would be obliged to let her have it. *I'd better find Ranma first,* she decided.  
  
  
  
Several minutes later...  
  
Akane stared, gaping in awe at the sheer size of the metropolis she saw. Tokyo was a big city, but it was nothing compared to this city, wherever it was. Given that many of the signs were in roomaji or the familiar blend of hiragana and katakana, she felt confident that language would not be a problem, for which she was eternally grateful.  
  
She needed to find some way to find Ranma, but how? Going to the police or a private detective was out of the question. There was no way they'd believe any of her story. That meant she'd have to track him down herself, something she wasn't exactly skilled at.  
  
It was going to be a long journey.  
  
***********************************************************************  
Author's Postscript:  
  
At last! It took me long enough to get this part out, but its finally here! Any suggestions on who or what I should focus the next episode on? Send 'em in!  
  
This is Cyclone, signing off. 


End file.
